Panetone (A Peruvian Christmas)

It’s not going to begin to look like Christmas…but it still is.

It’s summer here and rainy season has begun so no snowmen or

I got to experience a Peruvian Christmas. I missed my family for sure and our Christmas Eve dinners consisting of all types of international dishes. This year all my dishes are international so for Christmas Eve I made mac and cheese and hot chocolate. Quite tasty and nothing like home. But I am still thankful I got to spend Christmas with a family…my new Peruvian family.  They don’t have a lot here. There aren’t presents or trees or stockings but they have hot chocolate and panetone (a fluffy version of fruitcake…it’s growing on me.)

So this next part is wild, I was finishing up a book and I heard my host parents outside my room…I thought they were making my host brother get his haircut…on Christmas Eve? Anyway I figure I’ll go outside to see what all the commotion is about. I don’t even step outside before I see they have a dead sheep hanging from the ceiling and they are skinning it. I couldn’t look away and I watched them skin the whole thing and then cut its head off. Gross…I no longer want Christmas dinner…I think I’ll stick to the mac and cheese.  So guess what I had for Christmas Eve lunch…fried blood and potatoes…not as bad as it sounds…liver is the worst.  Next year will be quite different from that for sure and I am excited to see everyone.

I didn’t really get in the Christmas spirit like I usually do…the day after Thanksgiving I usually have my tree up and my Ipod consists of nothing but Christmas music. This being my 4^th Christmas away  from home…the routine usually consists of me working and it  just seemed easier to ignore that Christmas has even come to past. Not this year…I’m not working and I have had a lot more time to reflect.  So I can’t ignore the reason of celebrated the very birth of our Savior and King. He deserves all the glory so therefore I will not sit back and act like Christmas doesn’t exist purely because I cannot be with my family. I am always with them at heart and I know they will have an amazing Christmas because it isn’t about being with my family but about Christ. In Spanish mas means more…I can’t get enough of Christ so I have no better reason than to celebrate this day.

It wasn’t until Dec. 23^rd I decided to bust out the Christmas music. My favorite Christmas song is by Third Day “Born in Bethlehem.” It’s an amazing song and I discovered it a few years ago. The lyrics are so powerful and I almost cry every time I hear it.

Here’s the lyrics:

Baby Jesus born in a stable

A humble savior’s birth

You left Your throne in heaven above to live here on the earth

Baby Jesus lying in a manger cry out for the world

The angels told the shepherds of the good news for His soul

Halluejuah the King is here given for all men

For today the Holy Son of God was born in Bethlehem

Come now sinner and you saints

All peasants and our kings

And bow before the earth’s redeemer let all voices sings

Hallelujah the King is here given for all men

For today the Holy Son of God was born in Bethlehem

Hallelujah the King is here given for all men

For today the Holy Son of God was born in Bethlehem

Baby Jesus do You know You’ll die for all our sins?

Don’t be afraid for in the three days You will rise again.

You will rise again.

(My favorite part…gives me chills every time! )

Hallelujah the King is here given for all men

For today the Holy Son of God was born in Bethlehem

Hallelujah the King is here given for all men

For today the Holy Son of God was born in Bethlehem

For today the Holy Son of God was born in Bethlehem

That last verse is so powerful to me and praise I our Father for giving us His Son in our place! J

Christmas day I left my town and headed to Pomabamba to meet several other volunteers. I was feeling good about the day and had my own Christmas morning worship and sermon with David Platt. It started to rain…no big deal. My host mom mentioned a taxi had drove by just minutes before and was coming back, that way I wouldn’t have to walk in the rain. Well after about an hour the taxi still hadn’t returned so I proceeded to walk to the next town which is straight up hill…not a fun venture in the muddy rainy season of Ancash. After I made it to Piscobamba, usually there are hourly buses to Pomabamba but I’m guessing because it was Christmas day they weren’t as frequent…one of the other volunteers had mentioned the buses were running. Well after another hour and a half of waiting I decided to start walking about thinking I could eventually catch a bus…well hour one of walking went by…no bus. Then hour two…still no bus. Hour three…I was on the brink of tears. And at hour 4 and half I finally caught a bus…15 minutes before I made it to Pomabamba. Needless to say, I had a lot of time to think and go through different emotions. My legs hurt and I was totally unprepared to my day hike to the next town. I love to hike don’t get me wrong…but I do like to know I’m going hiking before I leave the house so I can have food and water…two things I didn’t have with me. This 7-hour adventure was only supposed to talk about an hour and a half. Oh well my fellow PCV were able to cheer me up and the rest of the night was enjoyable except for my aching shoulders and feet.

Though, I will say I have some news. To be continued…

Where the eucalyptus trees grow…

I know what you’re thinking…Australia right? Wrong. Eucalyptus trees also grow here in the Andes because it’s one of the few trees that can grow at such high altitude.

Oh FYI! <3

My new address: Celeste Grisham

                                Cuerpo de Paz Perú

                                Serpost Pomabamba

                                 Ancash, Peru S.A.

As a new Peace Corps Volunteer, I firmly believe I go through about 18 different emotions a day…I believe this blog reveals it at it’s best: unfiltered, unedited, and all over the place. Good Luck!

So I have officially moved into my new house in Socosbamba. My family is very sweet and my socios are helpful. I live in an old tienda with adobe walls covered in cheap plaster. (If you lean on the walls you get white stuff all over you.) I still haven’t gotten used the smells here. Not all are bad but they are all unfamiliar.  The worst has to be going into the latrine. Dirt floor and walls with a 5x8 inch hole. I hold my breath when I go in but it’s never long enough. There are probably 1000 gnats in there at any one time. I’m pretty sure I have actually inhaled a few.

Of course I will get used to all of this. My least favorite part so far has got to be when I had to scrub the dried dog poop off the floor…what fun.

By day 3 I was sick. Adjusting to the food has been hard. Lots of potatoes and rice….but that’s the easy part. I think the final straw may have been when I was served cuy head for breakfast. I almost died when I realized what it was. When my family isn’t watching I feed a lot of my food to the dogs…I just can’t eat that much especially liquefied fruits and seeds. It’s hard to choke down.

When I got sick my host mom was so sweet and constantly kept checking up on me. She made me a delicious homemade 5-herb tea. I think it helped.

Then I went for round two…haha but for real I’m better now.

So I’ve made a comprehensive list of the foods I can cook with here in the country it’s not looking too good may need a little help with some ingredients from the states J

List of foods at site thus far:

Potatoes

Masamorra (some sort of fruit or grain with cornstarch and water...comes in lots of different kinds...most are pretty gross)

Chicken (kind of pricey)

Corn purple or white...they also make a drink and beer with this stuff

Potatoes

Rice (oh hey more carbs)

Herbs

Potatoes

Guinea Pig including the heads (fried)

Cheese (only homemade which you can't cook with but it is good)

Potatoes

A watered down version of oatmeal and/or grits minus the sugar and salt

Salt

Potatoes

MSG

Tomatoes

Potatoes

Eggs

Bread Rolls

Lentils

Potatoes

Spaghetti sauce made from powder

Potatoes

A pumpkin like substance that they boil...seeds, guts, and all... it's really gross

Oil

Potatoes

Sheep

Trout (fried of course)

Canned tuna…kinda pricey too

Beef (maybe?)

Potato soup

Have I mentioned potatoes?

I know this makes everything sound horrible besides the food and lack of sanitation I really do like it here. There are a lot positive things.  My host brother and sister are completely precious and I don’t even have to try and they love me and want to hang out every night. So far I’ve shown them, “The Sandlot” and the game M.A.S.H. that I used to play in elementary school….they played it for hours with everyone in the house…which is 8 people and then all of their cousins…and I’m not sure how many of those there are. Haha I’m also invited to my host’s sister’s graduation on Dec. 16 and after there is an 8-hour party. Gosh I hope I survive.

Ok so I went to the party before I was able to post this. Well of course I got the time wrong and showed up 3 hours early and missed lunch..so I good chunk of the time I just thought about how hungry I was. (I have got to get my kitchen set up so I can eat on my own terms.) Well the graduation party was fun but lasted up 7 in the morning. I, however, left at 3:30 to head for home…alone in the complete dark without a flash light in the rain and up hill. I almost slipped every ten feet because it was so muddy (I hate flats…have I mentioned this before…yeah they are “cute” or whatever but they are pretty uncomfortable…I’d put them up there with high heels except at least I have balance when I’m flat on the ground.) I used my camera as a flashlight, which worked better than I thought it would. I made it home and had to climb over the fence because the gate was locked. Anyway it made for an interesting night, got to learn how to dance to Peruvian music, and it was fun hanging out with people in my community.

As far as the professional side goes it’s as good as it can get with my level of Spanish and my zero level of Quechua. I already have the ball rolling on several things for my community diagnostic, which is what I’ll be doing for the next 3 months.  My first full day here I ran into the director of the high school and he asked if I would teach English class because the teacher was out of town. So I did. I taught a 2-hour English class with zero prep time. Considering the circumstances I thought it went fairly well. If you would have asked me 2 months ago if I could teach a class in front of twenty students…I would have said no way. But I did.  I managed to hold their attention and speak almost correct Spanish. Haha. But it was worth it just to meet a few new people. I even walked home with some of the girls from my class.  

I think I’m starting to get somewhere. I have more meetings even though I know I’m not talking enough. Yikes! Come on Spanish. For instance one of the high school teachers invited me to lunch…or so I thought. It was actually a party for the high school seniors. I was served cuy and the biggest potato I have ever seen. But the strangest thing was how this crazy lady would walk into the room (something like a make shift gym/theater) with a bowl in hand. She looked so creepy and I’m pretty sure she may be the town nut because I saw her earlier in the day sitting outside the kindergarten building scratching her leg with a stick. (They happened to be cooking as well.)

 Afterwards there was dancing. Before I knew it they had me dancing with an 80 year old Quechua man and a high school senior. The music was the worst. I must save that for another day. So there is a beer here called chicha, which is also a drink. The purple one is non-fermented and is pretty much their version of kool-aid. So they offer me chicha and I just automatically think oh purple chicha..Sure…why not. Except they come out with a big glass of yellow chicha which is a corn beer. I didn’t know what to do…so I drank it anyway…it tasted like fermented vomit. It was really gross and really strong. I spent the rest of the night trying to convince them I didn’t want anymore. I was successful. I won’t make that mistake again. Gross.

I finally made it to the town with the market. It is an hour walk away….straight up hill. The best cardio I’ve had since I’ve been here.  We hung out most the day at a dance festival and had lunch at a rather dumpy restaurant but I did enjoy hanging out with my family and getting sunburned…gotta remember that sunblock. It’s doing no good sitting at the house.

Another great thing about living in the campo and having a lot of free time is the freedom to casually read once again. I haven’t done it in forever and it’s great. Especially on the rainy nights when the power goes out and I get to read by candlelight…at that point I really do feel like I’m on Little House on the Prairie. But it’s wonderful. The flame gives that extra little bit of heat that you don’t get on a usual cold night. So I’m going to keep a running list of books I read here. One, so don’t forget what I’ve read. Two, because I want to.

This past couple of weeks I have read:

1. Alice in Wonderland (Why am I just now reading this?) Glad I did though. All those movies and shows finally make a little more sense though they never really did in the first place but that’s the beauty of the story.

2. The Hobbit (Same question. Equally as good. Wish I had read this one before I read LOTR)

3. Touching the Void- It’s about a coupe of guys who climb a mountain in Peru and the author of the book breaks his leg and his partner has to cut rope leaving him stranded, alive and very injured….he eventually crawls back to base camp. Basically, the mountain climbing version of 127 hours. It’s also a documentary, which I really want to see now.

4. Water for Elephants-don’t bother…not good. Don’t know about the movie either…never seen it.

5. “Stuff” my dad says- A little vulgar but hilarious…think of it as the modern day Archie Bunker tale.

I’ve also been able to told a couple of dance parties with my little host brother and sister and of course their cousins tag along. I think their favorite was probably Cotton Eyed Joe. At night it’s really, really dark and a lot of times the power goes out or it rains (talk about mud) but I usually relax with a workout, a book, TV show, or movie. The dance parties are almost nightly around here if not my little host siblings are constantly keeping me entertained. They are so much fun and think it’s hilarious when I workout.

As you know Peru is mainly Catholic and the Evangelicals are somewhat snobby here so I have yet to associate myself with either. However than you Podcast because every week I still get to have a little church through various sermons I downloaded off the internet.

David Platt proposed these questions and it has got me thinking more about what I’m doing here and what I should be doing here….

If our lives should reflect Christ, in what ways do our lives show to be different unique and set apart?  Do our lives just look like the rest of the worlds? What ways should we be living our lives to reveal the glory of God and not live the life of a casual Christian? Why do we not live a life that is an example that we possess the most valuable thing in the world?

What areas of my life are not reflecting the holiness of God?

Just some things I’ve been reflecting on…thought maybe they would help someone else out there too.

I have become a big fan of lists lately…(it really helps me get stuff done).

I finally made a list of things people can send me, since I have a permanent address for the next 2 years.

Things people can send me:

Peanut butter JIF natural

Chocolate (um any kind amazing at this point)

Sour skittles

Garlic salt

Chili powder

Twin sheets (cheap anything better than the 10 count i have)

Tuna packs

A dog whistle (they bark all night)

Velveeta mac and cheese

Rotel

Maple syrup

Chapstick

Kool-Aid fruit punch is my favorite... also need the kind that already has sugar in it

Gum

Spanish tracks

Black pepper

Used books (good ones that people enjoy reading… English or Spanish…they can be heavy so look out for weight, which translates to a lot for shipping)

Operation World (a prayer book probably can be found at Lifeway or at least on Amazon...don't know the author...heard it in a David Platt sermon)

Creamer (plain)

Tea (especially like chai, green tea, and earl grey)

Taco seasoning, pesto, or ranch packs

Stickers or anything an 11-year old girl or 9-year-old boy would like

In case you didn’t catch it the first time:

Celeste Grisham

Cuerpo de Paz Perú

Serpost Pomabamba

Ancash, Peru S.A.

Let me know if you send something so I can be on the lookout for it. J

"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness or abilities that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."- William Penn

Britney Spears

I’m officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. Yesterday we had 64 new trainees swear-in…including me!  The past couple of days have been nice. Thanksgiving was great with way too much food, but I really miss my mom’s turkey and broccoli casserole so al in all it was a good Peruvian Thanksgiving. Later that day we had a party for our host families. I learned a Peruvian dance from each of the regions of Peru: selva (jungle), sierra (mountains), and the coast. I had a lot of turkey along with everyone else we were way too full to dance but we tried anyway with our thanksgiving bellies. Haha.  Swearing-in was a good day. Lots of guest and the Ambassador spoke at our ceremony.

  

Britney Spears

Well as everyone knows I’ve always got a good story going on…Friday night after swearing in, a group of us went to Lima to dance, eat, and celebrate the past ten weeks of training before we all parted ways. We went dancing and I got tired and went outside for some fresh air. I was just casually talking to my friends, when a random Peruvian girl came up and kept saying repeatedly, “Hey you! Go inside.” I told her now and then happened probably about 15 more times in 30 minutes. That’s when I got fed up and told her to go away. She kept insisting and a couple of my friends decided to step in. We ended up just walking away but the girl followed. They started yelling, “Bro” and “Britney Spears” So I guess she thought I was Britney Spears (Disclaimer: Thanksgiving night there was a Britney Spears concert in Lima) and started following me with her camera yelling, “Britney Spears, Britney Spears” I finally started running and my friends block her. We even told some security guards she wouldn’t stop following me…they just laughed. They even thought is was one of my friend but we had to keep telling them it was the obviously high out of her mind girl with the pink pants. I got away but she continued to follow my friends all the way to McDonalds 8 blocks away. So I guess here in Peru I look like Britney Spears. Haha…great.

So tonight I head to Huaraz and then off to my site. Don’t know when I’ll be back on here after Monday. But like I’ve said in all my blogs before…feel free to call and I’ll try not to miss my calls!

I found this quote and I have a feeling it’s going to be very helpful while I’m here especially in these next few months as I got through yet again…more culture shock and integration into a new community. “Develop a flexible attitude, a joyful willingness to do whatever it takes. Without flexibility you could end up returning home disappointed and unfulfilled. Recognize that things won’t always go your way.  Flexibility is simply saying, “Your will be done, Lord, not mine.””

Love and miss you ALL!

Miss giving thanks...or just the food?

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT: To the best mom in the world, Sarah Grisham! Happy Birthday! Wish I could be there to spend the whole day with you! Love you more than words could ever say! A picture is worth a thousand words…so here’s a pic of my mom and I! J

Best mom in the world! Happy Birthday! I love you!

Well I have a week left of training.  This is exciting and scary all at the same time. I’ll be living on my own with my host family in the middle of nowhere. I am anxious to see what will come of all of this but at the same time wondering how the unknown will turn out.

This week will fly by quickly just a reminder…after this week…I will be isolated and only be able to get on the internet about once a month. I’ll post my new address ASAP but I would love a phone call here and there. I remember when I first moved to England. I found out who my real friends were when I moved thousands of miles away…I guess this will even be more of a real test?

***A good book to read more about Peru history and Andean literature is The Andes: A Cultural History by Jason Wilson. *** Just finished it and I learned so much about Peruvian Cultural History…if you’re that type…read it. The guy’s British so it has those obnoxious “-our” instead of “or”

So Thursday is Thanksgiving….I’ll miss my family and the American food especially the turkey leg and overindulging myself with casseroles but I can still give thanks to God for all the blessings He has given me. I don’t deserve anything but He gave it all. Especially after being here for over 2 months I see how blessed our country truly is. We have more than we will ever, ever need so I am glad I can be here to share our abundance.

I won’t miss “Black Friday”…this may come as a surprise but I’m not a big shopper! Ha. Friday I will officially be a Peace Corps Volunteer…up until then I’m just a trainee…so far I think that is the only similarity I have found to the military. Its so different…yes it’s a gov’t position but different in so many ways.

Miss you boogers!

  

While I’m here I’ll be rocking out Thanksgiving Peruvian style! Everyone have a wonderful holiday and don’t ever forget why we should be THANKFUL! Happy Thanksgiving! Do it up for me American style…Football, Fall, Food and ALL! J

  

Top 10 THINGS I’m THANKFUL for this Year:

1.     Salvation-Grace through Faith!

2.     Infinite blessings

3.     Family (I love you all more than words!)

4.     Friends (Ditto!)

5.     Freedom (Ameri-cuh!)

6.     Books (help me to not feel so dumb even my writing is worse!)

7.     IPods/External Hard-drives (Make time fly on the long bus rides)

8.     Q-tips (This will be on the list every year)

9.     Baby wipes (My new shower)

10. Casino cookies (they’ve gotten me through training.  They come in every flavor you could think of…almost…no wasabi cookies…yet)

Socosbamba

Ancash Crew

So I have a lot of catching up to do on this thing. I have had an amazing couple of weeks of training and visiting my new site. I am going to be spending the next two years in the department of Ancash. I will be living in the clouds in the Andes!

A Little Irony

So around the second week I found out my name is a color here in Peru. Celeste emphasis on the last E means sky blue in Spanish…and guess what? Ancash means in Quechua?…Sky! J

Campo training

Campo in Spanish means country or the boonies however you want to put it. On Nov. 1^st I found out I was going to be living in Ancash for the next two years. I could not have been happier. I really wanted to live in the mountains and I got it. There are 4 from my training group going. We all seemed pretty pumped. Hence the super happy expression on my face in this picture.

The next day we headed back to Ancash for a few more days of training. We got to stop by Incan ruins and even more exciting I got to see a bunch of llamas. I don’t know why but I have this weird obsession with llamas. Everytime I see one here I get super excited…yelling, “Oh my gosh! A LLAMA!” Whose got the llama? I’ve got the llama!  I also got to meet most of the volunteers already placed in Ancash. They are crazy, fun, and laid back.  After training I headed to my new site for a short visit to meet my new host family and the community I will be working in the next couple of years.

View from the top!

Region

I still can’t believe it. I’m super pumped I got the mountains! I am also with some pretty cool people. I have about 7 hours away from the regional capital and more or less 17 from Lima, which is kind of far but nothing compared to what people in Northern Peru have. I will be speaking both Quechua and Spanish. So I may be semi-trilingual when I leave here. Ok not really Quechua is kind of hard.  My community has about 1000 people.  I’m going to be living the boonies…here the volunteers call it the “dark side of the mountain” because it is so far. From Lima I have to take an 8 hour bus to Huaraz the department capital. Then from Huaraz I have to take another not so comfortable bus over the Cordilleras Blanc on a road that had more switchbacks than I could count.  The trip does have an amazing view….probably the most beautiful drive I’ve ever taken.  The road to Pomabamba is also one of the most dangerous roads in the world.

One of the most dangerous roads in the world!

It is pretty though!

Socosbamba

7 and a half hours later I arrive at my new home for the next two years: Socosbamba. In the town there is a elementary, a high school, and a health post….that’s pretty much it. It’s really rural, spread out, and hilly. The town is about an hour walk from Piscobamba where there is a market and internet. So if you guys really love me you will have to call me because I will probably only get to the internet once a month.  My town has a few tiendas, which are like convenient stores but they usually aren’t open because the families are out working in the fields.

Where I'll be living:    http://maps.google.com.pe/maps?hl=es&tab=wl

I really like my new host family. I have 2 sisters, a brother, 2 cousins and my host parents. So there are 8 of us living in the house. It doesn’t get boring. My little host sister, Lizeth is 11 and so sweet. She loves to play volleyball so I’m excited that they love that sport here. My family has a lot of cuyes…guinea pigs. I actually go to eat one. I thought it was pretty good…not a whole lot of meat there but quite savory.  My host mom talks a lot, which will help me with my Spanish. She even said she would translate for me when I work with people who speak Quechua! Good I’m going to need all the help I can get. We have fruits tree in my backyard. Lime, lemon, orange, apple, avocado…and blackberry bushes.  I also don’t have a shower and we have a latrine for the bathroom. There will definitely be a lot of things to get used to but I am ready for the challenge and excited!

My new host sister and cousin

My new host mom cooking

I don’t want to make this too long and I have 2 years to continue to tell you guys more about Peru and my life here.

The view from my backyard

Sunset from my backyard

Today I read some encouragement fro the Message: Work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a  smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving you orders, you’re really serving God. Ephesians 6:7